Amasa Delano on China in the late 1700s, from his Narrative of Voyages and Travels in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres: Comprising Three Voyages Round the World; Together with a Voyage of Survey and Discovery, in the Pacific Ocean and Oriental Islands (full text via Google Books; p. 531 and following). Delano was in Canton while Macartney's embassy took place in Beijing.
See also Koxinga for a comparison of European and Chinese development in this era.
In the ensuing century both France and England would adopt examination systems, following the Chinese model, for civil service and university selection.
